Executive Summary: Wednesday February 03, 2010
By Scott Rochfort | smh.com.au | 03 February
The quick naming of Jackson Lloyd Packer yesterday has helped the country's once-richest family stop the media from speculating over potential moniker for the gambling heir.
However, CBD already had a few first and middle names written up before the ever-expanding Packer family announced their new arrival.
The list included: Frank, Dude, Stanley, Rupert, Leckie, Jodie in all its various forms of spelling, Z Ellerston 2 and L. Ron.
It is yet to be revealed how much the baby weighed.
STRONG HOLD
Herston Economics was keen to boost its profile yesterday afternoon following the Reserve Bank's decision to keep interest rates on hold.
The Sydney-based newsletter was quick off the mark to announce that its founder, Clifford Bennett, was the only economist in the market to correctly predict the RBA's actions.
''Bennett has been exceptionally accurate in forecasting RBA rate adjustments. He argued against the need for the last three rate hikes in the previous cycle and was the first to forecast rates would bottom at 3 per cent in 2009,'' said the media release.
The next test will come next month, when Bennett reckons the RBA will again keep rates on hold. By year's end, he reckons the official rate will go up only to a still modest 4.25 per cent.
MESSY MOVE
James Hardie has not lost its knack for getting itself into complicated situations. Attempts by the company to put itself on the right track by moving to Ireland appear to have already taken a setback, with the shareholder vote on the final stage of the redomicile from Holland being delayed.
The company, which plans to change itself from a Dutch to a European company to enable the move, has to get approval from its handful of European staff, not just shareholders. Hardie shareholders, when they approved the first stage of the redomicile in August, were not too concerned by the ''special negotiating body'' Hardie also had to get approval from.
But the company has yet to get the all-clear from its European staff to complete a resolution passed by its largely Australian-based shareholders in August for it to become a European company.
The indicative timetable provided by Hardie last year scheduled an information meeting in Australia on January 11 and the shift to Ireland - if all went to plan - to be finished last week. However, it might be some time before Hardie's US boss, Louis Gries, - who is required to be a Dutch resident - will be able to relax over a pint of Guinness.
Things that appear simple rarely turn out so for Hardie. Ahead of its shift to Holland for, ahem, tax reasons in 2001, Hardie's then chief executive, and now banned company director, Peter Macdonald, explained: ''The new structure provides a unique solution to the unique structural issues faced by James Hardie and will optimise returns to shareholders.
''James Hardie will remain a prominent, Australian-listed company,'' he said. One reason the company forked out $US71 million for the move to Ireland is to avoid paying higher taxes. It's also to dodge the Dutch requirement for senior corporate personnel to spend large slabs of time in Amsterdam. Pretty complicated when your operations are based in California.
REAL ESTATE BUY
The billions of dollars of losses racked up by the listed property sector have yet to dent the job prospects for those wanting to make a break at the top end of the industry.
Barely five weeks into the new year, Merrill Lynch/Bank of America has opened up its chequebook to poach the bulk of Bell Potter's real estate division, which only banded together four months ago.
Among the exodus is the head of Bell Potter's property research team, Simon Garing, who spent time at Merrill in the 1990s before joining UBS and then Babcock & Brown.
Joining Garing at his old firm will be Phil Montgomerie, Cameron McDonald, Anna Chen and Janine Yoong. Bell Potter's property corporate advisers, Damien Cronin and Gerald Full, did not join the stampede to Merrill.
The hirings come after Merrill forked out a reported $27 million to poach UBS's team of real estate experts. Looks like Bell Potter might have to go back to the drawing board.
When he announced the formation of the eight-member real estate team in August, the firm's executive chairman, Colin Bell, said: ''At this phase in the property cycle, we believe it is the perfect time to build our expertise and take advantage of the opportunities we see in the sector.
''The breadth and depth of the team's experience positions Bell Potter to become a significant participant in this important sector of the market.''
First published by Smh.com.au on February 03 2010
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